The Internal Committee at Numerics Technologies has concluded their inquiry and found that the respondent, Rajesh sexually harassed the complainant, Tina.
While conducting their inquiry, the IC also found that Tina had undergone psychiatric treatment to deal with the mental trauma of sexual harassment. The IC also found that Tina was passed over for a promotion to the role of senior manager because she refused Rajesh’s sexual advances.
The Internal Committee had recommended corrective action for the sexual harassment. Still, the committee felt it was relevant to consider the financial and career loss that Tina had suffered due to the sexual harassment.
Financial Compensation was a recommended corrective action in Tina’s case.
What is compensation?
As per Section 13(3)(ii) of the PoSH Act 2013, when the Internal Committee concludes that sexual harassment occurred, the Committee is empowered to deduct a sum from the wages or salary of the respondent to be paid to the complainant or their legal heirs, in addition to the disciplinary corrective action that is recommended.
Compensation is recommended on a case-to-case basis with the purpose of putting the complainant in the same position that they would have been in if they didn’t face sexual harassment.
Since the incident of sexual harassment caused financial and career losses to Tina, compensation can be recommended by the Numerics IC to ensure she is placed in the same position she was in before the sexual harassment occurred.
How does the Internal Committee decide the amount of compensation?
As per Section 15 of the PoSH Act 2013, the Internal Committee shall take the following into account while deciding on the compensation amount–
- the mental trauma, pain, suffering and emotional distress
- the loss of career opportunities due to sexual harassment
- medical expenses incurred for physical or psychiatric treatment
- the income and financial status of the respondent
- feasibility of such payment in a lump sum or instalments
In Tina’s complaint at Numerics, she had incurred the cost of psychiatric treatment due to the mental trauma of sexual harassment and had lost career opportunities in the form of being passed up for promotions due to rejecting the sexual advances.
Hence, the Internal Committee would recommend compensation to Tina by considering both of these factors, along with Rajesh’s financial status.
What if the respondent refuses to pay compensation?
If the Internal Committee arrives at the conclusion that the allegation against the respondent has been proved, it will recommend to the employer to implement corrective action and deduct compensation from the salary or wages of the respondent.
There may be scenarios where the IC is unable to direct deduction. For example, when there are deductions from salary due to absence or the employee is no longer associated with the organisation, the organisation cannot deduct compensation. In those scenarios, the IC may direct the respondent to pay such sums to the complainant.
In the case that the respondent does not adhere to the recommendation for direct payment of compensation and fails to pay the sum, the IC may forward the order for recovery of the sum as the order would be when there is an arrear of land revenue to the concerned district officer as per the PoSH Act 2013. The district officer shall ensure that the compensation shall be paid through the relevant recovery methods for arrears of land revenue.
In the case we saw above, the Numerics IC would first direct the company to deduct the compensation from Rajesh’s salary. If Rajesh did not have a sufficient salary or wages to deduct from, Rajesh would be directed to pay the compensation amount directly to Tina.
In the scenario that Rajesh did not cooperate with the payment of compensation, the Internal Committee would submit an order of recovery to the district officer, who would then ensure that the compensation amount is collected through land arrears.